Toll claims US truckies pay deal a victory

A PAY deal struck between Australian transport giant Toll Group and its Los Angeles port-based truck drivers has been claimed as a victory by both sides.

The 65 drivers and Melbourne-based Toll were locked in a bitter two-year dispute, with both sides accusing the other of dirty tactics.

Under the new deal, Toll drivers' hourly pay rates will rise from $US12.72 ($A12.15) to $US19 ($A18.15) and the night-shift rate jumps from $US13.22 to $US19.75.

Toll drivers will also receive overtime pay of time and a half after working 40 hours in a single week, better pension plans, health care, protections against unjust discipline and termination, fair dispute resolution, paid time off and minimum guaranteed work.

Toll Group said on Thursday that it was pleased with the new pay deal after long negotiations with the truck drivers' union International Brotherhood of Teamsters and that it would improve conditions for all port employees.

"An important part of the agreement is a commitment from the Teamsters union to work towards improving conditions for all employees at the port," Toll spokesman Christopher Whitefield said.

"We now look to the Teamsters to honour their commitment to raise the standards of all employees within the industry to ensure they meet the high standard we are providing to our employees."

Mr Whitefield said the new contract essentially swaps an increase in the base rate of pay with a decrease in the incentive pay drivers receive.

"Last year Toll's California drayage drivers earned around $US21 per hour on average with overtime and incentive pay, which was already above the average per hour wage of all other heavy-load drivers at other trucking companies in the Los Angeles and Long Beach area," he said.

"Now the average hourly earnings will be closer to $US22 with overtime and incentives."

But the union also claimed the deal as a victory, saying it was the drivers who pushed for the new deal.

"We commend these truck drivers for their leadership in challenging the status quo at the ports," Teamsters general president James P Hoffa said.

"Workers everywhere are standing up to say enough to poverty wages, and Toll drivers have demonstrated that working families will fight for middle-class pay cheques in America."

The Transport Workers Union of Australia (TWU) was a major backer of the LA truck drivers during the campaign.

"This agreement, the first for port truckers in the US for almost 30 years, will act as springboard for organising the entire port trucking industry over the coming years," Michael Kaine, acting national secretary of the TWU, said.

"During the campaign, TWU members right across Australia stood up and demanded Toll management make their own policy of 'One Toll' - where workers across the world experience the same standards, practices and workplace values - more than just words."

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